New leggings are just the best. They’re are a great pick-me-up for getting to class when you’re feeling lazy. A good pair will hold you in, even when you’re maximizing the jiggles in endless sets of Mountain Climbers. A bad pair will betray your dignity and all that you stand for, especially during those endless sets of Mountain Climbers. Here’s a year-end recap of some highs and lows I’ve experienced on the wild ride that is purchasing (often overpriced) athleisure leggings!

The Worst

• Aritzia Tna Equator Legging in Canteen – The biggest offender this year. Admittedly, they were only $30. Also I picked them up in-store at the Aritzia in Boston after getting drenched in a rainstorm before a nearby reformer class, so I did get to touch them IRL and should have known better, but still OMG. I should have just reformer-ed soggy. (A) The bottoms of the legs are not finished. Just a raggedy seam hanging out, flopping in the breeze. (B) They do not retain their shape. After one wear, the knees were bagged out and the waist was slipping down. (C) Washing didn’t snap them back into shape. They are now even more malformed, and have been relegated to the pajama drawer. Their one redeeming quality is that the print is really cute.
• Nike Pro Classic Bash Capri – Man these leggings started out strong. At just about a year in, though, they deteriorated rapidly. I take pretty good care of my activewear (machine wash gentle with Laundress Sport Detergent or Woolite, always air dry), but despite my best ministrations, they don’t retain their stretch anymore, and the black has really faded. On the one hand, they lasted a year, but leggings I’ve paid less for are still going strong after 6 or 7 years (hey Champion capris from Target! #ilu), so I’m calling bs.
• Adidas by Stella McCartney Yoga Seamless Tights in Pale Salmon/Eggshell – These guys were so cute that I added a Shopstyle alert to them and proceeded to stalk/wait months for their price to drop below $100. My primary complaint is their lack of support (jiggling, lumps, etc). To add insult to injury, I feel that they are extra underwear-line revealing. I have VPL FOR DAYS every time I wear these, and have to remember to wear a longer workout top to compensate.
• Splits59 Nova Trailblazer Performance Capri in Purple – These go on this list for a really petty reason. These capris are so lovely – great fit, great length, super flattering seam placement, great color… the color is the problem. If I wear them in the spring/summer/fall in the daytime, particularly in the swamp that is DC, bugs will bite the shit out of my legs, and bees won’t leave them/me alone. I had some kind of biting bee thing follow me onto the metro this past late August for a memorably horrible 20 minute trip to my favorite class. I now always wear pants on top of them, or change at the studio. So yeah, if you live in a hot swamp, buy these in a less beautiful, non-insect-attracting color.

The Best

• Outdoor Voices x Of A Kind Ombre Spring Leggings – so cute, so flattering. I love them. #1 most complimented. No jiggle, no bumps, glorious high waist, leg lengthening, and all that nice stuff. These Dipped Warmup Leggings in Charcoal/Graphite/Ash are still available, and of the same color palette.
• Zara Terez Geo Capri – great print. I’ve had these for nearly a year and they’re holding up great – no fading, still retaining their stretch and shape.
• Athleta x Derek Lam 10c Block Studio Capri – I love the minimalist color blocking. These fit great and work well with my workout tops, all of which are black or grey. Plus the panelling makes them super slimming.
• A.P.C. x Outdoor Voices Graphic Leggings – I scored these beauties for nearly half off on a UK site (Matches) when they had a % off promo combined with free U.S. shipping. Totally worth it – the space dye print disguises sweat nicely, there’s enough support that I don’t get embarrassed about excessive jiggling, and the high waist is lovely during bridges, short spine, and roll-overs. The only difference I’ve noticed between these and regular OV leggings is the length – definitely made for someone taller than 5’6″. With regular OV, the leggings come down to just past my ankles – if I wanna look cute I roll them up an inch. These needed a good 3 inch cuff.

Full disclosure that I’m a bit of a TOTAL OUTDOOR VOICES FANGIRL. They can do very little wrong in my eyes, and I own an undignified amount of their stuff. The only time I’ve felt even mildly wronged was by the “Studio Tight” – these leggings looked so cute and minimalist in the pictures, but I could do with them being a little more supportive. They show my lumps and bumps a little more than I’d like. I was also pretty miffed when OV quit making their clothes in the USA.

Grace Coddington has created a perfume in an adorable cat-shaped bottle. I don’t particularly care for perfume, but I love cats, and I love Grace Coddington (I read her autobiography, Grace: A Memoir, last year. It was completely charming).  Anyway, as expected, the packaging and promotional art of this collab with Comme des Garçons is cat-centric and wonderful.  Check it out:

Also, check out Grace’s adorable Instagram:

Oh no, the cat’s out of the bag!! Myperfumebottle #comingsoon #gracebygracecoddington #gracecoddingtondotcom #catlady animation by @jonathanaeden

A video posted by @therealgracecoddington on Apr 7, 2016 at 11:18pm PDT

More on the perfume here: http://www.gracecoddington.com/story (the cursor is a mouse!! #details)

Some exciting gift ideas for your workout buddies this dreary holiday season.

Top Row:
Best Pilates Master in the Galaxy shirt: Cute idea, especially for friends who also like SciFi and/or video games
The Red Thread of Pilates book: On the one hand, exorbitantly expensive. So expensive I would half expect my teaser to be perfect after one reading. On the other hand, amazingly comprehensive with a beautiful layout. Check out a review here.
“Hello, Pilates Hotline…” tote bag: Love the retro pinup Pilates Hotline girl. Wish there was a Pilates Hotline, and I could call it, but feel I should avoid “1-800-HARD-CORE” because they probably can’t answer my questions.

Middle Row:
“Workout” pouch/laptop cover: Adorable print by Marcos Chin. The same print is also available in phone and tablet covers.
Outdoor Voices Dipped Warmup Leggings: Outdoor Voices is pretty much my fave. I love minimalist gym clothes, grey is the best color, and Outdoor Voices can do no wrong in my opinion. I have these leggings; they are my #2 most complimented leggings. My #1 most complimented leggings are also Outdoor Voices, but appear to be sold out forever (see ‘em here)
Pilates Sloth print: Ah my spirit animal, the Pilates sloth. A friend sent me this print randomly, and I love it. If it came on a shirt, a mug, and a tote bag I would also be pumped.

Bottom Row:
Pilates Nerd water bottle: Who wouldn’t want a matte black, murdered-out, Pilates-themed water bottle? Also, I found some cool podcasts via this site.
Pilates Heavy Metal pin: Pins rule. Especially metal, goth, secret society, and cat themed pins. Pilates is a lot like a secret society, and doing Pilates is metal AF. Here are some more pin ideas on my Pinterest, since I’m obsessed with pins.
Contrology tote bag: The occult allusions of this tote make me giggle. Anything that combines Pilates and secret societies is great. New York Pilates also has two shirts that are really cute, but alas currently sold out 🙁

Quick note to self to find more fitness friends and less beer friends. Or maybe determine which drinking friends would go to a reformer class with me first…

Finally, a warning: oh the unholy handmade items you can’t unsee when you search for Pilates on Etsy.

 

I‘m in a new city for work for the next 9 weeks, and still want to get in as much Pilates work as possible. Besides, the idea of checking out new studios in a new city sounds really fun! I decided that using my ClassPass membership’s “Flex location” option was my best bet – I can try several studios over the first 2 weeks, and then buy some 5-10 packs at my favorites.

My first experience checking out new Pilates studios was over 2 years ago. I was just beginning my fitness efforts, and was an absolute beginner at Pilates, reformer, and fitness in general.  At that time, I was definitely going to sign up for the Beginner level class.  This time around was a lot more complicated – I’m pretty firmly in the Intermediate category, and find the heavier springs and longer/harder reps to give better results a lot faster.  Unfortunately, most of the studios with reformer classes had really intimidating disclaimers (check with instructor first, must take at least 10 intro classes, must do 1-on-1 with the studio beforehand, must contact studio prior to registering, etc) – not just on Intermediate classes, but even Beginner!

On the one hand, I get it: particularly with ClassPass, people tend to sign up based more on schedule than on whether the class level matches their experience level (I’ve been guilty of this myself just to get a workout in on a particularly rough week).  Nothing is more irritating at my home studios than starting an advanced class where a student reveals they’ve never done reformer before – the poor instructor spends most of the class babysitting that person.  On the other hand, I was most concerned about whether the beginner level classes could be as challenging as I’d like (mainly in the arm work – I’m not gonna get Michelle Obama arms on one blue spring, folks).

After some awkward introvert (read: hoping to avoid human interaction) deep thinking, I finally emailed the studios with the intimidating disclaimers, and simultaneously signed up for their beginner level classes.  I let them know that I have a few years of reformer experience already, am excited to try new things, and hope they can give me a better idea of which classes I would fit in best with after the first session.  All of the studios responded very welcomingly, which felt great. The classes themselves were pretty fun as well (except one studio that was FREEZING). I didn’t try any classes at the few studios that insisted on a 1-on-1 session before taking a class, regardless of experience.  I love a good 1-on-1, but to drop that kind of money I want either an instructor who I’ve worked with before and who knows my history and goals, or at least to be at a studio I already know and like.

The most surprising takeaway was that Beginner classes are still awesome.  I usually do a basic form-and-foundations yoga class every month or so just to check in on my form, so it’s kind of weird that it didn’t occur to me to do the same in Pilates.  Every class was an opportunity to get super into positions and movements, and basic moves like making perfectly symmetrical leg circles, or being able to tuck up an extra inch because my legs were in tabletop instead of at 45 degrees, ended up being pretty fun.  I was most worried about not breaking a sweat and feeling like I didn’t get in a good day’s workout, but that was not the case! I guess the beauty of Pilates is you can always make it harder and more awful (awesome?) for yourself.

And on that cheerful note…. bye for now.

Welcome friends, cat enthusiasts, and folks who like hurting themselves through the awesome awfulness that is Pilates.  This is all a bit half-assed, but let’s see where it goes.  I look forward to discussing leggings, whiskeys, and perfecting a jack knife.